A relay apparatus (router and the like) for relaying a frame on a network has a CAM (Content Addressable Memory) mounted thereon to improve a processing efficiency (refer to, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 09-162922). The CAM is a memory for searching for a data word by itself when the data word is designated and outputting an address of a location in which the data word is stored.
Note that, recently, a CAM and a contents memory (memory for storing data corresponding to an address searched for by the CAM) are integrally arranged as a chip from a reason of reducing a cost and improving a processing efficiency, and the chip is mounted on a relay apparatus (for example, ASSP (Application Specific Standard Product)). The chip more improves the processing efficiency of the relay apparatus by searching for data corresponding to an address from a contents memory when a data word is designated omitting a process of outputting an address of a location in which the data word is stored to the outside and by directly outputting the data as the search result.
However, when a CAM and a contents memory is integrally arranged as a chip and mounted on a relay apparatus as described above, a problem arises in that the CAM cannot be efficiently used because an address in which data relating to a designated data word is stored cannot be obtained.